Murdoc
Murdoc Niccals was dumped on his father's doorstep in infancy and went on to a very abusive childhood. It has been proposed that his many addictions and his sour attitude were due to his abusive childhood. Sebastian Jacob Niccals, (or Jacob Sebastian Niccals, depending on who's asking) was a spiteful drunk of a man who often verbally abused and exploited his sons. No one actually knew for certain who his mother was, but most think he was born to a woman in a mental hospital for the terminally bored, where he was raped too. The local pub had a routine talent show that Murdoc was often forced to participate in so he could win his father drinking money. The performances arranged by his father were always humiliating song and dance numbers, usually with feathered costumes and tap shoes, including one performance in which Murdoc was forcibly dressed up as Pinocchio and sang "I've Got No Strings". It was here that Murdoc decided to become a musician. He would never again take the stage under someone else's direction. He would wreak his havoc on this world of buffoons. Murdoc played in a number of bands before Gorillaz, though they never went anywhere. One of these was a Heavy metal band named Daft Punkz which consisted of six people, including Murdoc on bass. The names and instruments of the other members appear in the Gorillaz 2005 promotional booklet and are given as follows: Billy Boy (who is based on a character in A Clockwork Banana) and Tiny on guitars, Crunch on drums, Rocky on keyboards and Munch who appears to be listed as "Band Artist." Not much else is known about these characters including their personalities or current whereabouts, although they appear on a few pieces of official Gorillaz artwork, most notably in the previously mentioned booklet as well as in Kong Studios where an image of Crunch, Billy Boy and Tiny can be seen on the wall in the instrument room. With the band's first album's success, the band launched a disastrous world tour: while in the United States, Murdoc established a cult of personality with various seedy individuals, chief of which being Little Jimmy Manson, a psychopathic midget dangerously obsessed with either killing Murdoc, or falling in love with him. In a hotel room one night, Manson and his cronies summoned a black-skinned demon boy that has stalked the band ever since. After achieving fame, fortune, and several nasty hangovers, the alcoholic bassist relocated his band over to Los Angeles so they could begin production on a movie. Unfortunately, this was never to be. They were conned by a movie director (who it turns out, was just an insane man) while Murdoc attempted starring in a television program (he was too old for the part), and they ventured unsuccessfully into scriptwriting. Murdoc took off to a Tijuana brothel after strangling 2D (who, like the rest of the band, went their separate ways) and was eventually thrown in prison with a 30-year sentence for giving counterfeit checks to the prostitutes (fact: Murdoc lost his virginity at 9 to a dinnerlady) It was during this sentence that he was acquainted with his raven Cortez, the "jailbird with a chilling reputation". While serving his sentence Murdoc acquired some prison ink (in the form of the seven deadly sins tattooed across his back), and also took an open University course: "Amateur Administration of Pharmaceutical Medicines" and managed to pass a medical exam, earning the title 'Dr. Niccals'. He escaped with the help of two Mexican criminals, a papier-mâché mannequin of himself and a taped loop of himself moaning. After returning to the brothel to make a final point to the Mexican authorities, Murdoc loaded up on duty-free tequila and a few sombreros and made his way back to Kong, finding that Noodle had written the second album by herself (which he tried to take the credit for). The new album, Happy Nothings Sometimes, made the band into even bigger superstars. After several number one videos, Noodle (close compadre to Murdoc) was apparently "killed" during the El Manaña video shoot (it can be noted that Murdoc came up with the idea of shooting down the floating island with Noodle inside, though to try to save her in the long run). After the El Mañana conspiracy, 2D and Russel were frantic about Noodle's supposed death. But it turned out to be a hoax. Murdoc revealed the truth about the El Mañana video in the Gorillaz official autobiography book, Rise of the Ogre. Gorillaz-Unofficial released an article containing the contents of the book. It turns out that the entire El Mañana conspiracy was calculated specifically to get rid of an enemy of the band: Little Jimmy Manson, a psychotic hippie turned industry executive who was set on sabotaging Gorillaz. The reason was that Jimmy auditioned for Gorillaz a few years back, but was turned down after Noodle got the job. He has had a grudge with Gorillaz ever since. Murdoc saw Jimmy's plan and decided to get rid of Jimmy before it was too late. Murdoc told Jimmy that he had a plan to "help him" to kill off one of the band members so that Gorillaz would end with a bang and that Jimmy could start a new band with Murdoc. Noodle was to do the El Mañana video with Manson stowed away on the island and then, while the windmill was crashing around them, Jimmy would shoot the guitarist whilst taking the parachute for himself. However, Murdoc turned the tables on Jimmy by not only "forgetting" to leave the weapon aboard the island but by also locking him in the windmill; Jimmy supposedly died within the crash while Noodle parachuted to safety. His statement has followed: It was stated by Murdoc that Noodle had been planning to leave after Demon Days, although leaving what, the band or the country, was never answered. Though it had been planned for months, she had neglected to tell anyone of her plans (although Murdoc stated it was obvious what she was doing). Murdoc, in order to run with his plan to off Jimmy, made a deal with Noodle: she could disappear for some R&R with no fuss if she did the video. While some may say this is one of the only occasions when it appears that Murdoc isn't as selfish as he appears, he later states that no one was going to ruin his band, obviously meaning he would not jeopardise his fame. However on 8 November 2007, the day of the live chat on bandmate Murdoc's Facebook page, Murdoc revealed that Noodle has actually been taken in place of Russel Hobbs, to Hell by the demons invading the Kong Studios building. Murdoc is currently attempting to rescue her. He later explained: Murdoc has since revealed various disturbing truths about Gorillaz' history, via his "Pirate Radio" broadcasts on Gorillaz.com. Among them include the revelation that Noodle was never rescued; upon entering hell and searching wildly for her, he discovered that she was not there and had disappeared on her own. Returning to Earth, he created a clone-cyborg version of her from DNA that he collected around the wreckage on the site of El Mañana, and used the new Noodle as his bodyguard against the Black Cloud, pirates and mercenaries that Murdoc had been selling bad weapons to since at least his time in Mexico. At a recent radio interview, Murdoc confirmed that he burned down Kong Studios and used the insurance money in order to create his hideaway/recording studio on a tiny island called Point Nemo. Also known as "Plastic Beach", it is an island made entirely of social and cultural garbage. He is presently located on Plastic Beach, where he's kidnapped 2D and began production of the Gorillaz album Plastic Beach. During the interview, Murdoc also hinted at a possible fourth album for Gorillaz. Murdoc has most recently been trying and failing to appear at live shows around the world such as Coachella and The Roundhouse, but many things have stopped him such as being deported from America. He said in an iTunes interview that he "Wasn't 100% sure he really exists..." and that Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett have been trying and failing to stick him back on a piece of paper. The ever-so pesky "Gorillaz Tribute Band" has been blocking his way and preventing him from taking the stage (See the Murdoc Dressing Room video shorts where, when preparing for a concert, Murdoc, 2D, and Cyborg Noodle get trapped inside.). It appears from the music videos of "Stylo" and "On Melancholy Hill", an evil force known as the Boogieman is chasing Murdoc, and is after him to claim his soul. The Boogieman also appears in several other pieces of Gorillaz artwork and is also seen in the 2D ident, though the motives of the character are still unknown. On the Gorillaz website however, it was noted that the Boogieman is a physical manifestation of Murdoc's evil side, the Evangelist being a lighter side, though all we know of the Evangelist is that it was created for the sole purpose of saving Murdoc from himself. Murdoc got together a group of collaborators in 2010 and went out to look for Noodle, although they still haven't found her, she is now confirmed to be alive after the "El Mañana" incident, as she appears in the "On Melancholy Hill" video, which relates to Murdoc and the collaborators looking for Noodle, as they are in submarines in the ocean at the same time as Noodle, although the video also shows the arrival of the gang to the island of Plastic Beach. On December 25, 2010 to cap off the end of 2010, the Gorillaz unveiled (via the Gorillaz Advent Calendar) their newest album, The Fall. It was made on the Escape to Plastic Beach World Tour using Damon Albarn's iPad. As of late 2011, in a recent XFM Broadcast, Murdoc stated he left his pirate-infested Plastic Beach to live in Hawaii. It is evident by his detailed "story" that he is there alone, though, some fans are convinced he is lying about 2D's "sudden death" (which didn't happen in an uncut version until he said it again was true) and the appearance of Russel and Noodle, as well as the destruction of the Cyborg Noodle. After nearly a year underground (or lurking in the dark corners of who-knows-where), Gorillaz’s Murdoc Niccals has resurfaced and is again wreaking havoc — this time over the airwaves. It seems in fact that, following a dramatic exit from Gorillaz’s Plastic Beach HQ, the miserable despot Murdoc Niccals has created yet another pirate radio station and is now sending transmissions from a brand new mystery location. It's all about Gorillaz Converse single will be called "DoYaThing" and will feature collaborators André 3000 (of Outkast) and James Murphy (of LCD Soundsystem). The single was released on 23 February.[2] It turns out that Murdoc wasn't in Hawaii at all, but was living in a ransacked house in England; 212 Wobble Street, London to be exact. It is unknown what happened after the rest of the band finally caught up with Murdoc, but in the DoYaThing video, it is revealed that they are all living together, however, they have been threatened with an eviction notice. The band's current status is unknown now. Trivia * Murdoc's Twitter * In a video by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett titled "Gorillaz - ASK:REPLY", Jamie states the reason Murdoc is green is because he is an "immortalist" and he has been around since the dawn of time, so his body is a "rotting carcass", hence the green skin. Jamie also thinks that he has played a part in every major historical event, for example he says the Great Fire of London was probably started by Murdoc throwing a cigarette out of a horse and carriage. * Murdoc's attire in each phase of the band draws its inspiration from Ozzy Osbourne. * Murdoc's voice changed drastically during the transition from Phase 1 to Phase 3. Initially, Murdoc's voice was higher-pitched and nasally. In later phases, his voice lowered in octaves and became a mix between nasally and raspy. Category:Gorillaz Member Category:Murdoc Images Category:Male Characters Category:Gorillaz